EU approves €125.8M for three cross-border renewable energy projects

The funding comes through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Energy. It will support two cross-border district heating projects involving Germany and Poland, as well as the development of a cross-border onshore wind park near the Latvia-Lithuania border.

According to the European Commission, the largest grant, €70 million, will support the final works sub-project of the UNITED HEAT project, which aims to develop climate-neutral district heating in Görlitz, Germany, and Zgorzelec, Poland. The works include a cross-border pipeline to enable heat exchange and connect the district heating systems on both sides of the border.

A further €11.41 million will support the TWIN HEAT project, which covers Słubice, Poland, and Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. The funding will help replace coal-fired heat generation units in Słubice with two biomass boilers, each with a thermal capacity of 6 megawatts.

The remaining €44.4 million will support the first implementation phase of the UELJO project, which aims to develop a cross-border onshore wind park near the Latvia-Lithuania border. The park is expected to include around 30 wind turbines and generate up to 680 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity annually.

The European Commission said the projects will support renewable energy integration, regional decarbonisation and closer energy cooperation between EU Member States.

The European Commission adopted the new CB RES list on September 11, and it is due to enter into force on October 1, 2026. The next CEF Energy call for proposals for cross-border renewable energy projects is expected to open in November.

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